Tue 6/27/2006

An adventure day! Heather packed lunches. I was groggy, maybe five hours sleep, but I came round. The little kids fought in the morning, but settled down when we got going.

We headed North on our 'back' road, first goal the tour inform in Eger in order to find the 'small villages' tour guide that Heather had from before and which we misplaced.

We listened to Grimm's fairy tales on the way up (and all through the day's travels). There were appropriate morals offered at the end by Molly and thene Heather.

Molly and I talked about creating modern fairy tales while on our bike ride, and recording sound effects and the like. "and then her father changed the firewall rules and kept her off of her instant messenger."

We had Success ad the tour inform! Heather went in while we stayed cool in the air conditioning. The girls noticed a water fountain, DSC_8543. I saw it the first time we were in Eger, and it made me think of Rome, with water running freely. I didn't see anyone using it, but Molly and Leah did! Countless people came by and washed their hands or took a drink.

Heather also returned the piece of metal thattlooked like a cabinet lock, which Spencer had 'liberated' on our last visit. I think it was on the floor and looked to an inquisitive mind like a bit of discarded metal.

(he had an inquisitive mind like a bit of discarded metal) (he had a mind like a bit of discarded metal, sharp and interesting)

Getting around in Eger is sometimes a challenge. Tiny streets that lead nowhere. Heather said we should drive by the castle so that molly could at least do a driveby. The challenge raised its head and we wandered about, finally seeing the Minaret DSC_8545 and using it as a landmark.

We decided that seeing the Minaret was a fine goal, and an obtainable goal once we set our combined navigational resources at the task. These resources primarily consisted of catching glimpses of the damned thing and saying 'over there' 'where?' 'there!'

We managed, finally. And waited while the group before us finished their tour, and then while the next group slipped in while we were fesculating with the bathroom and getting our group together.

The bathroom was across the street. First Maddy and Molly and Leah and I went, and then Spencer and Heather decided also to go. I was entranced with the doors, and recorded their squeaking. To the point where Heather said "You really should go to film school."

When I pay attention I find the world is endlessly fascinating.

The guidebook says that the claustraphobic should not enter. The guidebook is correct! (DSC_8554-DSC_8561)

It is sort of high, and has 97 steps, or somewhere in there. I counted them on the way up. When I got to 35 I started to feel, well, a bit panicky. I was not at all sure of the benefits of ascending a frightfully narrow enclosed tower in order to get up high, where my imagination is loosed in bad thoughts involving gravity, only to be given the opportunity to descend those same steps.

I thought 'okay, I'm a third of the way up. I can do this. And then what? then I have to come down. ack'

I took some deep breaths and comforted spencer or maddy. this is funny, I don't remember which one I went up with. I think Maddy, and I came down with Spencer.

I was sort of focused on the narrow walls, pressing in, and the climb, and the times when there was little light and we were nearly in dark. All that stuff.

The view from the top was fun. (DSC_8546-DSC_8552). We all, except for Leah, inched around the top railing. That was a narrow place!

Spencer, or maybe Maddy, asked what would happen if the tower fell. I told them "We would fall for about three seconds, and then we would die." I'm not positive about the time, but close enough.

Molly was curious if you would feel pain, or would you just die. I offered an opinion that I didn't think you would have time really to feel the pain, but there would probably be a flash.

Leah remained near the door, preferring the stone to the freedom of flight.

We saw Heather exiting the Marzipan Museum (DSC_8553) and descended in a happy mood. I asked if I should go first, "So if you fall I can catch you" of if I "should go last, so if I fall I'll bowl you all down with me?" And Molly wondered if you fell if you would go all the way down. I was thinking no, because you'd get jammed in some how, but perhaps I am wrong.

I was with Spencer on the descent (and later coming down the mountain), and we had a nice time puttering our way down. Spencer and I took the internal pictures (DSC_8554-DSC_8561).

They have parking machines on the streets. Your clue is to look on the dashboards of the parked cars. If they have a white ticket on them then you need to find the machine.

Heather noticed that on our first visit to Eger, and of course she was on the case again today, keeping us from a ticket. It is fascinating that in Hungary they have a whole science of Parkology! (DSC_8562).

After that we revisted the world of winding little streets. It was fun to imagine the GPS tracks which I was collecting. We saw a little dog with his head out of the coca cola truck. In truth, Heather saw it, and I stopped and tried to capture it, but the dog had moved to the other side of the front seat. I tried, making kissing sounds and calling the dog.

"You just are not going to get that picture" Heather said. And she was right. I got something (DSC_8563), but it was not 'the' picture.

I was convinced as we left the Minaret that we needed to eat some fruit right now!

Sadly I was right, but we didn't. We wandered about, and then stopped at Tesco and I filled the car with gas. i had the little kids. Spencer used a marker to circle each of his mosquito bites (DSC_8564), and then the kids fell apart in an ugly way.

Heather, Molly, and Leah were trapped with a trainee cashier, leading to enhanced pain. Finally Maddy and Spencer and I went in. We came to a big area with a central set of shops. I stood at the corner and sent maddy one way and spencer the other, with instructions to find them!

Maddy emerged, and I followed her and all was good.

I went into Tesco and looked at compact flash cards ($50 or so for 512 mb), and writeable CD's. They were all surprisingly reasonable, but more than we pay at discount.

Other things here are much cheaper, even manufactured things like soda pop.. I have this theory that in the US we pay a premium for a lot of things because we can, and the corporations 'know' that we can pay. Not really in a grand conspiracy to 'rip off the rich people' but in an evolved system in which we are charged what we will pay.

Anyway...we then headed up to the last remaining Romanesque church in Hungary. The mountain was fascinating mountain, DSC_8566. We couldn't figure out if it had been quarried (it was a large area!) or was natural. The church was off by itself. There was another family, and two guys working. And a gift shop which I didn't go into. (DSC_8567-DSC_8573).

There was a stream that went under the walled area, and down the hill. The other family was gathered around the stream, the father dripping water onto his arms and legs in order to cool off. spencer went off on an exploring adventure, I followed a bit.

The crucifiction figures on the exit were, well, garish DSC_8574, in that way in which glorifying the painful death of another is sort of garish and frankly gauche. There was then some excitement involving the WC. Maddy, Molly, and Leah went, and then came back without success. It was just a hole with a plank over top and no toilet paper. Leah was grossed out by the flies and all. When she got back into the car Molly saw our toilet paper, and that was enough to get her to return.

Maddy and (lagging a bit!) finally Leah followed. Spencer was all over the idea. It was dull when it was just a bathroom, and he didn't need to go, but turn that into a plank over a whole and he was excited!

We then made our way to our next destination, the town of the mountain railroad, and park, and lippinzaner's.

We missed the railroad, ending up at the 'normal' train station, then wandered out of town and saw lippisanners pulling wagons, DSC_8575, and finally made our way into the park.

We road the narrow guage railway a short 15 minutes (DSC_8579-DSC_8597), and I did sound recording. The train is awesome! The whole park was great.

At the top of the station we went the 200 meteres to the lake, DSC_8602, and the further 600 meteres to the cave of prehistoric man DSC_8613.

The descent, and then hike back was fun. Maybe a tad long. When we got back to the river spencer made more of his 'special boats,' DSC_8655.

We ended going to the Lippinzenger museum, which was closed, but still cool, and then we had a fun drive home.

I was tired, but the kids were kind, and happy and all was great!

Molly nad Leah went to the pub, so after a bit the kids grabbed their devil sticks and cards and we also went. The whole pub scene is nice in a lot of ways. We sat outside, sweltering, drinking 25 cent glasses of soda and playing 'speed.'

"You won, but we tied because I could have won but you were faster." Spencer "That, young man, is why it is called 'speed.'"

Dinner was comfort food of eggs and noodles. spencer tucked himself in. Molly carried him to bed from the couch. Maddy lay next to me in bed and we told stories until heather came in, and I tried to go to sleep early. It worked, \ except for the storm!